The invention relates in general to information networks and, more particularly, to the management of nodes within an information network.
An information network comprises a plurality of nodes that are interconnected by communication paths. The nodes in the network comprise sources of and/or end points for data communications within the network. As such, the nodes have the capability to recognize and process data communications from other nodes and/or to forward data transmissions to other nodes. Networks can have many different configurations, or topologies, describing how the nodes are interconnected. For example, networks can be interconnected in a bus configuration, a ring configuration, and a star configuration, to name a few.
In many networks, a subset of the nodes in the network comprise data processing or data storage subsystems that are used by other nodes to perform data processing/storage functions. Such networks generally require management of the subsystem nodes to ensure efficient operation of the overall network. Management functions are generally performed from a central location in the network by a controller node that communicates with the other nodes via the network communication paths. As can be appreciated, network management functions can significantly increase information traffic levels in a network. This increase in traffic levels can compromise the performance of other network operations by, for example, slowing down data delivery rates in the network.
Therefore, there is a need for a network management method and apparatus that is capable of efficiently managing a plurality of subsystem nodes while generating a relatively small amount of network traffic.
The invention relates to a method and apparatus for use in managing the operation of a plurality of subsystems within an information network. The method-and apparatus are capable of efficiently managing the network subsystems while generating a relatively low level of network traffic. The management functions are performed from a client machine within the network that is coupled to the subsystems by the network transmission medium. The client machine includes a cache memory for use in storing management-related objects that have been retrieved from the subsystems via the network medium.
When managing a particular subsystem, the client machine first determines which management-related objects are required to manage the subsystem. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, this is achieved by obtaining a list of objects from the subsystem. The client machine then checks the cache memory to determine whether any of the required objects are stored therein. If one or more of the required objects are stored within the cache memory, the client machine reads these objects from the memory for use in managing the associated subsystem. The client machine then sends a request to the subsystem, via the network medium, for delivery of the other required objects. When the client machine has obtained all of the required objects, management of the subsystem is commenced. Because the client machine requests less than all of the required objects from the subsystem, network traffic is significantly reduced.